No Ordinary Life
by time-converges
Summary: *spoilers for The End of Time* Donna Noble was never meant for an ordinary life. A different sort of fix-it.


Donna sat on the edge of the bed in the honeymoon suite, her wedding dress billowing around her. "Blimey, but my feet hurt!"

"I told you you should have worn trainers," Shaun said with a laugh as he sat down next to her, flopping backward onto the bed.

"They didn't go with the dress, did they?" She leaned down and slipped of her shoes, stretching her toes into the carpeting. Shaun reached for the remote control and flipped on the television. Donna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Married a few hours and you're already bored?"

He sat up, shaking his head. "Not at all, Mrs Temple-Noble. It's nearly time for the lottery numbers."

"Oh, I nearly forgot!" She pulled the lottery ticket out of her cleavage. She really should have put pockets into the dress, but her mother had thought that idea ridiculous. She unfolded the ticket.

"Who's it from again?"

"Dunno," she said with a shrug. "Gramps gave it to me, but he didn't say who it was from. Probably won't win anything."

"Ah, don't be so cynical! We might win a few quid, enough for a nice dinner or something."

She leaned over and kissed him quickly. "Always the optimist. That must be why I married you."

"Must be. Right, here we go!"

"30!" The announcer read.

"See! We've matched one already!" Shaun said excitedly.

"Hush, I can't hear!"

"23!" Donna's hands began to shake as the announcer continued reading the numbers, and each one matched the numbers on the ticket in her hand. The figures blurred as her eyes filled with tears.

"Donna?"

"Oh. My. God." She turned to him and held out the ticket. "You see the same numbers, right?"

He nodded mutely, his eyes full of excitement.

"You know what this means?" She stood up, nearly tripping over her discarded shoes as she began to pace. "You can quit your job, and concentrate on your music!"

"We can travel – anywhere you want!" He stood up and took her hands, stopping her from pacing.

"We can get a house!" She squeezed his hands in her excitement, happiness bubbling up inside of her.

"And a dog!"

"10 million pounds."

"10 million pounds," he echoed. He twirled her in his arms until they collapsed, laughing, on the bed. "Do your feet still hurt?" he asked.

"Shut up and kiss me."

***

It was so much money she had a hard time keeping hold of it in her head. At first she was a little reckless with it – she bought that ridiculously expensive handbag she had seen at the shop. She bought her grandfather a new telescope with all the bells and whistles, and he said his tears were happy ones. They bought a house: a nice, sensible one not too close to her mother, with plenty of bedrooms for the children they hoped for. They fitted one room out as a recording studio for Shaun, and another one as an office for her. She wasn't sure what the office would be for yet, but there was time for that.

They travelled, beginning in Europe and working somewhat methodically around the globe. Donna quickly tired of the usual tourist spots, and they began hiring local guides to show them what Donna called the "real" places, where they could meet the locals, taste the food. She tried to pick up the languages, with some success. Shaun went along on most of the trips, but sometimes she headed out on her own, leaving him to his music and immersing herself in the local culture somewhere like Guatemala, or Thailand. She'd come home with new jewellery and a new vocabulary, and tell him stories of what she had seen. She had a knack for avoiding trouble, and told of her close calls. He'd play her his newest composition, and they'd talk of the future.

***

After their daughter was born, and a year later, the twins, she stayed home more, but she itched for the day they would be old enough to join them on their excursions. After tucking them in one night, she found Shaun in his studio.

"I think I know what my office should be for."

"Go on."

"A foundation. A charitable foundation. We could give grants for – oh, I don't know what. Research, or medical care, or something."

"Sounds good to me. You'd be brilliant at that."

She smiled. "Not just anything though. Things to make the future better. And not just here – everywhere."

He stood and walked over to her, took her shoulders in his hands. "That sounds perfect for you." He kissed her lightly. "The Temple-Noble Charitable Trust."

She laughed, slipping her arms around him. "Sounds perfect."

***

At the press conference where she turned over the reins to her daughter, after twenty-five years of running the Temple-Noble Charitable Trust, she stood with proud tears in her eyes as she listened to her daughter answer questions with quiet confidence and good humour. The twins stood behind their sister, pride evident in their eyes. Shaun rested his hand on her shoulder. "She'll do a wonderful job."

"Of course she will," she said with a sniff. "She's our daughter." She turned to look at him, reaching up to touch the grey that was appearing at his temples. Movement at the edge of the audience caught her eye, and she turned in time to see a tall man with floppy hair, wearing an old-fashioned tweed suit, looking intently at her. He raised his hand in a sort of wave, a half-smile on his face, but he ducked his head as he disappeared through the doorway before she could wave back.

"Who was that?" she asked, but Shaun was watching their daughter again, not listening to her. She slipped her hand into his and rested her head against his shoulder, and began planning her next adventure.


End file.
